The Queen of Mirkwood ran. Her feet moved swiftly over the cold stone floor, almost desperately, curving in and out of hallways. The deep blue velvet of her night robes tangled with her legs, flying behind her as she ran. Screams. Voices yelling orders. Loud noises echoed in the majestic stone walls, their words incomprehensible. Frightened screams were swallowed by pleas for mercy, hanging like a taunting smoke on the cold night air. Figures running. Swords clashing. Arrows flying.
Bodies. So many bodies, male and female, dashed through the hallways, running into each other in a chaotic disorder. So many bodies lay lifelessly on the hard stone floor, or gasping their last breath among the living souls. The Queen kept running, not sparing a look back as she squeezed in between the masses of running warriors and screaming maids. Her golden hair twirled behind her, long strands out of place, tangling with the tiny jewels that adorned her braids.
Her right hand held tightly to the tiny hand of a crying elfling, pulling him along with her as his tiny feet struggled to catch up with her long steps. His large sky blue eyes looked left and right, crystal tears stained by the ashes that floated in the air, his wails muted by the loud noises of the fiery battle that filled the palace.
Her other hand carried the fragile body of a baby against her chest, using a white silk blanket as only means of protection from the harsh air. The baby cried, but the elegant Lady did not pay attention to her newborn daughter as she guided both of her children through the infernal stone corridors. Every elf was running, not paying attention to their surroundings, to whoever ran next to them; Lords and servants, Ladies and maids, all together in a desperate run. Some of them cried, some yelled, some anxiously tried to find a loved one in the midst of the chaos. A group of warriors ran past her, swords raised, ready to strike, but she did not turn to look as she heard the clashing of metal hitting metal only a couple of feet behind her.
"Arahaelon!" She shouted as she saw the familiar face of her first-born son suddenly appear through the mass of running elves. He ran to her, easily avoiding the running maids and servants, alert green eyes filled with worry and fear.
Immediately he picked the crying elfling in his strong arms and the tiny pair of hands quickly locked around his neck, feeling secure in his older brother's safe grip. The Crown Prince's eyes glanced quickly around them before placing one arm around the golden haired Lady's shoulder and reassuming their run. The elfling kept wailing, scared, his face now buried in Arahaelon's shoulder, their strands of hair of the same light blond color tangling together.
The Queen of Mirkwood could not tell exactly where the battle was taking place at the moment, could not tell where in the palace the enemies had already infiltrated as she ran along hundreds of elves towards the safety of the underground passages. But safety seemed so far away, so unreachable.
"Where are Lossenel and Tadion?!" She yelled, her voice almost inaudible in the chaos as she used now both of her arms to hold her crying baby daughter tighter against her chest.
"Lossenel is safe!" Was the short answer while Arahaelon pushed all of them to the ground just in time as a large rock broke through a crystal window.
There was an unmistakable edge of fear in his usually serene voice as all of his senses seemed sharper now, wide alert to his surroundings. A surprised cry escaped the Queen's lips as shattered crystal rained over them, some of them cutting through their skin. One of the larger pieces opened a large cut just before the Crown Prince's right ear, but he did not seem to notice. The elfling wailed louder, his tiny hands holding tighter to his eldest brother's neck.
"It is alright, Legolas" The Lady soothed the crying elfling as her eyes shot up to meet those of her eldest son.
"Where is Tadion?!" She repeated her unanswered question as they rose to their feet once more. Her voice betrayed her frantic worry and panic, and her green eyes pleaded her son for an answer. "Where is your brother?!"
"I do not know! He ran upstairs, I was going after him!" His green eyes looked frantically to left and right as they once again ran down the now unrecognizable long corridors.
Some of the walls had tumbled down, some staircases now completely blocked. The sounds of the fight were closer to them, making it impossible to know where was it safe to run. There was no time to waste. Another group of elven warriors ran past them, swords ready in their hands.
"The King is still in the council room! All entrances have been blocked!" She heard one of the warriors informing the others as they disappear in the crowd of running bodies.
"Nana, Ada is fine!" Arahaelon yelled at the Queen as she turned her head in the direction of the warriors, his free hand pushing her to keep running forward.
"My Lady!" A tall blond elf still in dress robes grabbed her arm, pulling her to the left into an opened doorway. "This way! A wall collapsed some feet ahead, if you keep going you will find a dead end!"
The elf guided her through the opened door, leading her down the stone spiraling staircase normally used by the servants. She stopped three steps down, turning to look behind her as a maid suddenly stopped by them.
"Sidhel, this way!" The Queen yelled at the maid. Arahaelon carefully handed the crying Legolas to Sidhel, the elfling quickly shifting his grip from around his brother's neck to around the maid's who quickly started to descend down the stone stairs towards her Queen.
"Your Highness!" Another group of guards shouted as they appeared down the hallway, stopping by the Crown Prince. Arahaelon turned quickly in their direction, pulling a long shiny sword out of its sheath before turning to glance at his mother one last time.
"Your Majesty, keep going!" The blond elf at the door urged her. The Queen could feel Sidhel's hand grabbing hers, pulling her down a couple of steps as she was torn in between continuing or running back to her son.
"My son!" She yelled, her face looking behind her as Sidhel pulled her quickly down the steps. "Arahaelon!"
"I have to find Tadion!" He shouted, throwing her one last glance before disappearing into a run back the way they had come, the group of warriors following him.
She heard the door close at the top of the stairs, but it was no longer visible to them as they spiraled downwards. The Lady did not turn to look, but she could tell that the blond elf that had opened the door was not following them, probably gone to join the others in battle.
Then a flash of light dashed through the air, blinding everything out with a power larger than she had ever witnessed. It seemed to blow her against the stone with an unimaginable force, muting every single sound, shaking the walls and floors, slapping her hair widely against her face. She felt Sidhel's body next to her, holding onto the elfling as tightly as she held her baby, both of them unable to move against the powerful blinding force. A single name crossed the Queen's mind at this power she knew existed although had never witnessed before: Thranduil.
Finally here is chapter 1 for the second part of the story! I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think of it!
Love,
Elena
YOU ARE READING
Almarëa
FanfictionThere were so many things she needed to know. So many things she wished she remembered. And so many things that still remained secret. And yet, even in the forests of Mirkwood, the powerful blue-stoned ring, Vilya keeps calling to her, and her fathe...
